Financial advice company Attivo has said it hopes to achieve national coverage in the near future through acquisition.
The Cheltenham-based company has made three acquisitions so far in 2019 and hopes to complete a fourth by the end of the year.
But Stuart Harding, Attivo's financial planning director, said the company would only buy a business if the fit was right.
He said: "We would like to become national but only if the right opportunity presents itself. We want to buy the right firms. Being the largest doesn't necessarily mean you are the best.
"We will be sticking to our belief in independence and being chartered. We want to work with the firms that are the most client-centric.
"It could take us one acquisition to become national or it could be 20. You have to make sure the client isn't treated as a commodity."
Mr Harding said Attivo's apprenticeship scheme - launched earlier this year - would be an important mechanism for growing the company over the coming years.
He said there was currently a cohort of 12 apprentices working their way through the scheme who were doing "extremely well", with a pass rate of around 90 per cent.
Mr Harding said: "We are already looking for the next cohort. We are looking to grow as a business but we want to do it in the right way. Trying to recruit the number of advisers we need would be hard enough, but then there's the calibre we're looking for.
"I believe the apprenticeship scheme will really help us grow."
In 2017 Attivo sold its discretionary fund management business to Quilter Cheviot to "reinforce its commitment" to independent financial planning.
damian.fantato@ft.com
